Here’s what happened when Snoop Dogg rolled through Pemberton Music Festival [Review]

Pemberton, BC – On Jul. 19, Snoop Dogg (aka: Snoop Lion, Snoopzilla, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Snoopadelic,, etc, etc, etc) rolled through Pemberton Music Festival 2014 for a performance at the festival’s main stage. Everyone was double-checking their schedules prior to the show: “A Snoop show at 6:30 p.m.? Is that for real?” “Snoop’s a headliner. Why is he performing so early?” It seemed weird that one of hip-hop’s heaviest heavy-weights had been given such an early slot.

It all made sense, though. Snoop’s not trying to be the hard O.G. that he once was. Reincarnated was his mid-life crisis. He seemingly worked through a lot of his image issues and is now embracing a softer Snoopy persona; which included the freshest pair of heart-shaped sunglasses that ever was (apparently our girl @kasskills has the same pair, courtesy of Forever 21 – eeeps!). But here’s the bottom line: this wasn’t intended to be one of those late-night sets of bumping-and-grinding. Excess marijuana aside, it was pretty much a family affair. Probably one of the most wholesome sets of the festival. Also of note and importance: Snoop was repping a Canucks jersey. Love when rap cats use sponsored sports paraphenilia to bond with their fans on a local level. Check the HipHopCanada review of it all after the jump.

Sarah: As a whole, the set was a bit of a bust. After the shock of seeing THE Doggfather wore off, it was evident that Snoop was essentially performing the bare-minimum from his hits catalogue. He spent the rest of the time blasting Biggie, Pac, and… Joan Jett? Ugh. Yes. Joan Jett. But really, Snoop? Does Pemberton look like a karaoke bar to you? Because the only time where such enthusiasm towards “I Love Rock N Roll” is appropriate is at 2 a.m. at the karaoke bar. It is not appropriate to play “I Love Rock N Roll” at Pemberton Music Festival at 6:30 p.m. That’s disgusting.

And he also played his Akon-collaborated “I Wanna F**k You.” And some dude came up to me and started trying to grind on my fanny pack and I was like “No. No. No. No,” and he went away. Thank god. But as far as having game goes; you’re probably at the very bottom of the food chain if you’re trying to grind up on Sarah Jay’s fanny pack as an Akon song plays during a Snoop Dogg set in the late-afternoon.

Don’t get me wrong, though: seeing “Gin & Juice” live brought on all sorts of feels. And when he did his “La-da-da-da-dahh/ It’s the motherf**king D-O-double-G,” line from “The Next Episode,” I felt like I’d just hit a major concert-attending milestone. And all I wanted to do was sing THAT particular “La-da-da-da-dahh/ It’s the motherf**king D-O-double-G,” line for the rest of the day. Because I’m very annoying. “California Girls” was cute, too. Because B.C. babes are the Canadian equivalent of California Girls. So it was the evening’s anthem for all the honeys in flower crowns, daisy dukes, and bikinis. Bless, y’all. Sarosh doesn’t like flower crowns (BOOO!) but I have the biggest soft spot for them. I wasn’t wearing one (insert sob here) – but I felt like “California Girls” was MY JAM. Like when “Single Ladies” comes on at the club and all of the thirsty honeys get a brief moment of validation.

Sarosh: What is there to say about Snoop? I read Rosa Jay’s Facebook update review of his Edmonton show got a little extra amped up his set. Somehow I’ve never seen him live before Pemberton. But it’s Snoop. That’s my dude. At some point, we’ll kick it at a barbecue watching some Pop Warner but that’s for another time.

The issue with Snoop’s set is it was much more of hanging out at the barbecue Snoop, than it was Snoop the performer. It was live and it was fun. But it wasn’t much more than that. After a strange intro by Bob Saget, he went into hits. Just not exclusively his hits. There were Dre tracks, a Bob Marley track and a few others I’m blanking on, with Snoop serving more as a host of the party than as an actual performer. Not that I hated the show by any means, but when one of my biggest regrets of the festival was that I missed too much of the Flaming Lips set seeing Snoop, it doesn’t say too much about it.

Written by Sarah Sussman and Sarosh Rizvi for HipHopCanadaPhotography by Sarah Sussman for HipHopCanadaNotice: The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the author and are not necessarily those of HipHopCanada or its affiliates.

Photography by Sarah Sussman

About Huka Entertainment

New Orleans, LA-based HUKA Entertainment is a privately held full-service production, talent-buying and promotion company that specializes in festivals, concerts and events of all sizes. Known for groundbreaking innovation at festivals throughout North America, HUKA Entertainment produced the Concerts for the Coast series featuring Jimmy Buffett, Bon Jovi and Brad Paisley; is the co-founder, producer, talent-buyer and promoter of the award-winning Rock The Ocean’s Tortuga Music Festival (Ft. Lauderdale, FL); is the co-founder, producer, talent buyer and promoter of Pemberton Music Festival (Pemberton, BC); and the co-producer and co-promoter of BUKU Music + Art Project (New Orleans, LA) and is the co-founder, producer, talent buyer and co-promoter of the award-winning Hangout Music Festival (Gulf Shores, AL). HUKA Entertainment also books talent for and/or promotes a variety of concerts and events throughout the Southeastern United States.

About The Sunstone Group

The Sunstone Group is a Canadian owned family business with operations in both the real estate and entertainments sectors. In addition to the Pemberton Music Festival, the Sunstone Group has a number of other business interests in the Pemberton Community, including a land development, establishment of an independent boarding school, and ownership of the Meadows at Pemberton Golf Course.
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About the Village of Pemberton

Pemberton is one of the fastest-growing communities in BC and home to family farms, fresh outdoor adventures and stunning vistas. The Village of Pemberton (VOP) is home to over 2400 residents and works in cooperation with neighbouring communities and key business and tourism partners such as Tourism Pemberton http://www.tourismpembertonbc.com and the Pemberton Chamber of Commerce http://www.pembertonchamber.com on community planning, service provision and events. Pemberton’s mild winters, warm summers and unique pioneer heritage provide an ideal place to enjoy arts, culture, history, recreation, dining, shopping and comfortable lodging.

About Whistler Blackcomb

Since 1992 Whistler Blackcomb has been focused on the development and execution of an environmental management strategy with the goal of developing a model of environmental and social stewardship for ski and mountain resort operations. Since that time, the company has been recognized for its efforts with countless awards, and has the honour of being named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers (2009, 2010, 2011). Today, Whistler Blackcomb is a four-season resort with a world-renowned Mountain Bike Park on Whistler Mountain, a 22-feet Olympic-sized halfpipe on Blackcomb Mountain, and five Terrain Parks to fuel progression at every level from beginners to elite athletes. The mountains play host to countless festivals and events each year including the legendary TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival each April, and Kokanee Crankworx Mountain Bike Festival each August, in addition to playing host to the world as the official alpine skiing venue for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

About Tourism Whistler

Tourism Whistler is the member-based marketing and sales organization representing Whistler, operating the Whistler Conference Centre, Whistler Golf Club, Whistler Visitor Centre, as well as 1.800.WHISTLER and whistler.com – Whistler’s official source for visitor bookings and information. As the convention and visitors bureau for the Resort Municipality of Whistler, Tourism Whistler represents more than 7,000 members who own, manage and operate properties or businesses on resort lands including hotels, restaurants, activity operators and retail shops.

About the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District

Located in southwestern BC, the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) is a local government federation consisting of four rural electoral areas (A, B, C, and D) and four member municipalities (Lillooet, Pemberton, Whistler and Squamish). Headquartered in Pemberton, the SLRD delivers a range of local, regional and sub-regional services to approximately 38,000 residents. Straddling the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains and encompassing 16,500 square kilometers of land, the SLRD features some of the province’s most spectacular forests, glaciers, rivers and lakes as well as an abundance of fertile agricultural land, much of which is found in Electoral Area C, near Pemberton.

About Tourism Pemberton

Tourism Pemberton is an independent not-for-profit destination marketing organization dedicated to promoting tourism and travel for Pemberton, BC and surrounding region. The area was developed at the turn of the century as a result of forestry and agriculture. The Pemberton Valley lies northwest of the Village and is famous for its seed potatoes. The Pemberton area offers world-class activities and recreation including snowmobiling, horseback riding, skiing, golfing, hiking, rafting, jet boating and gliding. The district also provides a variety of shopping, dining, accommodations and a thriving service and light industrial sector. Pemberton – Adventure Begins Here.

Sarah Sussman is HipHopCanada's Associate Editor in Chief.
Sarah was born-and-raised in Calgary, AB. She is a freelance writer and photographer, as well as a 2013 graduate from SAIT Polytechnic's journalism program. She writes about hip-hop and fashion (and sometimes a combination of the two). She also manages a vintage clothing boutique on-the-side.
Sarah has written for The Weal, Where Calgary, Essential Calgary, and Our Alberta. Sarah started working with HipHopCanada in Jan. 2013 as Canadian Prairies Editor. She has been fortunate enough to interview some pretty cool cats, including Action Bronson, Ghostface Killah, Moka Only, Joey Bada$$, Mac Miller, Maseo (De La Soul), Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest), and more.
Twitter:@IHeartTART